German

Proper noun

Leer n

1. a town in Lower Saxony, Germany

English

Verb

leer ‎(third-person singular simple present leers, present participle leering, simple past and past participle leered)

1. (intransitive) To look sideways or obliquely; now especially with sexual desire or malicious intent.
2. (transitive) To entice with a leer or leers.
   • (Can we find and add a quotation of Dryden to this entry?)

     To gild a face with smiles; and leer a man to ruin.

Conjugation

Translations

Noun

leer ‎(plural leers)

1. A significant side glance; a glance expressive of some passion, as malignity, amorousness, etc.; a sly or lecherous look.
2. An arch or affected glance or cast of countenance.

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English ler, leor ‎(“face, cheek”), from Old English hlēor ‎(“face, cheek, profile”), from Proto-Germanic *hleuzą ‎(“ear, cheek”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlews- ‎(“temple of the forehead, cheek”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlewe-, *ḱlew- ‎(“to hear”). Cognate with Scots lire, lere ‎(“face, appearance, complexion, blee”), Dutch lier ‎(“cheek”), Swedish lyra ‎(“pout”), Norwegian lia ‎(“hillside”), Icelandic hlýr ‎(“the face, cheek, countenance”). Related to Old English hlyst ‎(“sense of hearing, listening”) and hlysnan ‎(“to listen”). More at list, listen.

Alternative forms

• lyre, lire, lere

Noun

leer ‎(plural leers)

1. (obsolete) The cheek.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Holinshed to this entry?)

2. (obsolete) The face.
3. (obsolete) One's appearance; countenance.
   • c. 1390, William Langland, Piers Plowman, I:

     A loueli ladi of lere · in lynnen yclothed / Come down fram a castel.

   • Shakespeare

     a Rosalind of a better leer than you

4. (obsolete) Complexion; hue; blee; colour.
5. (obsolete) Flesh; skin.
6. (Britain dialectal) The flank or loin.

Anagrams

• lere
• reel

Etymology 3

From Middle English lere, from Old English ġelǣre, *lǣre ‎(“empty, void, empty-handed”), from Proto-Germanic *lēziz, *lēzijaz ‎(“empty”), from Proto-Indo-European *les- ‎(“to collect, pick”). Cognate with Dutch laar ‎(“a clearing in the woods”), German leer ‎(“empty”). Related to Old English lesan ‎(“to gather, collect”). More at lease.

Alternative forms

• lear

Adjective

leer ‎(comparative more leer, superlative most leer)

1. Empty; unoccupied; clear.

   a leer stomach

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Gifford to this entry?)

2. Destitute; lacking; wanting.
3. Faint from lack of food; hungry.
4. (Britain dialectal) Thin; faint.
5. Having no load or burden; free; without a rider.

   a leer horse

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Ben Jonson to this entry?)

6. Lacking sense or seriousness; trifling; frivolous.

   leer words

Etymology 4

From Middle English leren, from Old English lǣran ‎(“to teach, instruct, guide, enjoin, advise, persuade, urge, preach, hand down”), from Proto-Germanic *laizijaną ‎(“to teach”), from Proto-Indo-European *leis- ‎(“track, footprint, furrow, trace”). Cognate with Dutch leren ‎(“to teach”), German lehren ‎(“to teach”), Swedish lära ‎(“to teach”). Related to Old English lār ‎(“lore, learning, science, art of teaching, preaching, doctrine, study, precept, exhortation, advice, instigation, history, story, cunning”). See lore.

Verb

leer ‎(third-person singular simple present leers, present participle leering, simple past and past participle leered)

1. (transitive) To teach.
2. (transitive) To learn.

Etymology 5

See lehr.

Noun

leer ‎(plural leers)

1. Alternative form of lehr

Afrikaans

Etymology 1

From Dutch leren.

Verb

leer ‎(present leer, present participle lerende, past participle geleer)

1. to learn

Etymology 2

From Dutch leer.

Noun

leer ‎(plural lere)

1. (countable) leather
2. (uncountable) teaching

Danish

Noun

leer c

1. plural indefinite of le

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eːr
• IPA^(key): /leːr/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *leþrą.

Noun

leer n ‎(plural leren, diminutive leertje n)

1. leather

Synonyms

• leder

Etymology 2

From Old Dutch lēra, from Proto-Germanic *laizō, from *laizijaną. Compare German Lehre, English lore.

Noun

leer f, m ‎(plural leren, diminutive leertje n)

1. teachings

Derived terms

• leermeester
• leerstelling
• verzamelingenleer

Verb

leer

1. first-person singular present indicative of leren
2. imperative of leren

Anagrams

• lere

Estonian

Etymology 1

From Middle Low German leger, lager. Etymological twin of laager.

Noun

leer ‎(genitive leeri, partitive leeri)

1. camp
2. side (in a conflict)

   Ta on vastaste leeris

   He's on the enemies' side.

Declension

Etymology 2

From Middle Low German lere ‎(“study, learning”).

Noun

leer ‎(genitive leeri, partitive leeri)

1. (protestant) confirmation

Declension

German

Etymology

Old High German lāri

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /leːɐ̯/
• Homophone: lehr
• Rhymes: -eːɐ̯

Adjective

leer ‎(comparative leerer, superlative am leersten)

1. empty

Declension

Antonyms

• nichtleer

Derived terms

• leeren
• leerlaufen
• nichtleer
• halb leer

Verb

leer

1. Imperative singular of leeren.
2. (colloquial) First-person singular present of leeren.

Norwegian

Verb

leer

1. Present tense of lee

Romansch

Etymology

From Latin aēr, with the initial 'l' added from a preceding definite article.

Noun

leer m

1. (Sutsilvan) air

Synonyms

• (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Surmiran) aria
• (Puter, Vallader) ajer

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin legere, present active infinitive of legō. Compare English legible.

Verb

leer ‎(first-person singular present leo, first-person singular preterite leí, past participle leído)

1. to read
   • 1605, Miguel de Cervantes, El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha, Primera parte, Capítulo I

     […] y llegó a tanto su curiosidad y desatino en esto, que vendió muchas hanegas de tierra de sembradura para comprar libros de caballerías en que leer, y, así, llevó a su casa todos cuantos pudo haber dellos.

     […] to such a pitch did his eagerness and infatuation go that he sold many an acre of tillage land to buy books of chivalry to read, and brought home as many of them as he could get.

   Quiero leer el periódico.

   I want to read the newspaper.

Conjugation

• Rule: i becomes y before o or e.

Descendants

• Quechua: liyiy

Related terms

• lección
• lector
• lectura
• leyenda